


Sage Advice

by Cam719



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Episode: s05e09 Abu el Banat, F/M, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-04-12
Updated: 2007-04-12
Packaged: 2019-05-15 10:45:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14789042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cam719/pseuds/Cam719
Summary: Charlie gets some sage advice about dating from Donna and Josh.





	Sage Advice

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

  
Author's notes: This is a short story taking place after Abu el Banat.  


* * *

Title: Sage Advice

Author: Cathy Miller

Rating: Teen

Category: Humor

Timeline: Post Abu El Banat

Disclaimer: They are not mine and I make no money from them.

Feedback: Always welcome.

 

Donna could hear Josh's voice as she approached his office. Whatever  
he was expounding on sounded very serious.

"No, no, no. That's not what you want to do at all." He was  
saying. "Slow and subtle is how you want to handle this."

 

Donna was surprised as she came around the corner and saw Charlie  
sitting in Josh's office, each of them sipping on a beer.

 

"Office hours are over I take it?" Donna concluded.

 

"It's after 9 PM, Donna. Charlie and I have earned a break. We  
are taking a break and having a beer."

 

"Sounds good." Donna replied as she got a beer out of Josh's  
mini-fridge and sat down in the second visitor chair.

"What are you doing?" Josh asked her.

"Taking a break and having a beer." Donna answered.

"We're kind of in the middle of something here, Donna. You  
can't just grab a beer and sit down to join in."

"I'm pretty sure I just did."

"We're talking man to man here, Donna."

"About what? Maybe you could use the female perspective."

"Dating." Charlie offered before Josh could stop him.

"You're taking dating advice from JOSH?" Donna asked  
incredulously. "Isn't that like taking boating lessons from the  
Captain of the Titanic?" Donna snorted.

"I have had many successful relationships, Donna." Josh said all  
offended.

"And by successful you mean.."

"I've asked them out and they've said `yes'."  
Josh mumbled.

"Oh, well, if you simply need help asking a girl out, Josh can you  
help you there. What policy issue can you drum up for Charlie to help  
him get a date? Paid Family Leave? Oh, right you used that one already.  
California polling? No, wait. Used that one too." Donna pretends to  
be racking her brain for another issue.

"Alright, Lucy, we're all rolling in the aisles here. You are  
excused."

"No, no. I want to help. Who are you trying to ask out,  
Charlie?"

Charlie looked to Josh for direction and Josh shrugged in response.

"It's not so much asking out as…rekindling-"

 

"Zoey?!" Donna sat forward, delight on her face. "That's  
great Charlie. You two were such a great couple."

"She's back from New Hampshire and she looks great; happy and  
relaxed, you know? I just don't want to push her right now."

Donna nodded understandingly. "You need to be up front and honest  
with her, Charlie. Tell her you've missed her and want to take her  
out for a nice dinner to catch up."

"I don't think so, Donnatella." Josh barged in. "This is  
why you shouldn't be part of this conversation. Zoey needs to be  
wooed. Charlie needs to be subtle in his approach."

"I'm sorry, subtle? A woman doesn't want a man who can be  
subtle about his affection for her. She wants him to wear his heart on  
his sleeve for her."

"Yeah, that's what you women all say in Cosmo, but the truth is  
women only want men's hearts on their sleeves so they are easily  
accessible. That way it's easy to rip men's hearts off their  
sleeves and stomp all over them with their high heels." Josh leaned  
forward.

"What the hell kind of dates have you been going on, Joshua?"  
Donna asked point blank.

"You know it's true. Women say they want one thing, but the  
minute they've got it, they can't wait to drop it. You want to  
win Zoey back, Charlie? Subtlety. Ask her about her opinion on recent  
events in Saudi Arabia and start a debate with her about it. Clip an  
article out of the paper and send it to her with a note asking what she  
thinks or telling her it reminded you of her."

"That's crazy! Straight forward and honest, Charlie. Ask her to  
take a walk with you to look at the Christmas decorations. Tell her  
you're still in love with her. Tell her you never stopped loving her  
and then kiss her right in front of the White House Christmas tree."

"Like that's going to happen. If he tries ANY of what you  
suggested and she rejects him, then what is he supposed to do?" Josh  
argued.

"Move on knowing he told her the truth, from his heart, and hope  
that maybe she'll change her mind down the road."

"But my way buys him time. He can slowly work his way back into her  
life without any overt risks whatsoever."

"You two remember I'm still here, right?" Charlie asked  
them.

"He needs to take a chance and be honest!" Donna leaned closer  
to Josh.

"Take his time and be subtle!" Josh insisted.

"Yeah, take your time and be subtle, Charlie." Donna said  
sarcastically, talking to Charlie but looking at Josh. "That way she  
can guess about whether or not you really care about her for 5 or 6  
years until you get the nerve to make the first move."

 

"That's better than taking a risk with someone he's going to  
have to see every day and having it blow up in his face." Josh stood  
up to emphasis his point.

"It's really not!" Donna disputed and stood up as well.  
There was a charged silence as they stared at each other. Charlie   
looked from Josh to Donna and back again.

"Right. Well, thank you both for your help. I'll just head out  
to think about it." Charlie set down his beer bottle and quickly  
exited.

Josh took a breath and sat down. "I think Charlie knows who to  
listen to about this. We're done for the night."

"I still have to finish the thing for your breakfast meeting  
tomorrow." Donna replied primly and walked out to her desk.

Josh closed the file on his desk and decided to take a walk around the  
building. Donna couldn't really be serious about that advice, could  
she? That was nuts. `Take a risk'. `Be honest'. What a  
crock! He'd been plenty successful doing it his way for many years  
now.

No, he was sure his way was better. Josh picked up speed as he   
made a second lap around the West Wing, ready to get back and   
concentrate on work now, when something caught his eye. He slowed   
down and did a double-take. Charlie and Zoey were very busy kissing,   
only partially hidden by the White House Christmas tree. What the hell?

Charlie took Donna's advice? And it worked?! This could open up a  
whole new dimension in dating! Risk taking honesty. Who'd have  
thought? He slowly walked back toward his office, his brain trying to  
process what he just witnessed while simultaneously trying to   
remember every word that Donna had said. Finally, he found himself   
standing outside his door, looking at Donna as she finished typing   
whatever it was for the thing tomorrow.

"Hey Donna? Why don't you just pack it in for the night? I'm  
set for the meeting." Her head popped up in surprise.

"I should stop and what? Just go home?" she inquired.

"You could...Or you could take a walk around the West Wing with  
me... We could look at Christmas decorations…" Josh offered as his  
eyebrow rose in a silent question.

The look of puzzlement slowly cleared from Donna's face and was  
replaced with a look of surprised wonder. Without breaking eye   
contact, she shut down her computer and rose to stand next to him.

"Let's go." She said simply. They walked side by side down  
the corridor and after a few feet Josh reached over and took her hand   
in his. It wasn't a huge risk, but it was honest. She squeezed his hand  
in an unspoken reply.

Maybe it was pretty sage advice after all.

 

The End.


End file.
